Sauvignon Blanc for Early Summer - Creekside and No.99 Wayne Gretzky Estate

Last summer we complained about the rain and it looks like this summer we're going to be griping about the heat. I suppose that's human nature. One thing's for sure, if the past few days have been an indication of things to come, the sale of white wine is assured. 

NIAGARA: COOL CLIMATE AND WHITE WINES

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Ontario is a cool climate viticultural area. The Niagara Region is just above 43 degrees north latitudinal band. We share similar growing conditions to southern Germany. What this means is that we can grown and produce exceptional white grapes that will in turn make lively and refreshing white wines. 

When it comes to whites, Riesling and Chardonnay are the two main varieties that excel here. In their shadows, you can find Gewürztraminer with some great Pinot Gris/Grigio and Pinot Blanc. 

If you're looking for something to chill for these summer days, you can't go wrong with the above-mentioned as most wineries do good if not exceptional varietal or blends.

There's also Sauvignon Blanc which I've found typically depends on who you buy from...

A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFO ON SAUVIGNON BLANC

When Sauvignon Blanc is done right, it is easily distinguished from other whites. Sauvignon Blancs around the world are known for their grassy, herbaceous, green fruit, gooseberry and sometimes 'tomcat' aromas  and flavours (the latter often referred to as 'cat's pee'). 

It is grown throughout both the Old and New Worlds. In France look no further than the Loire Valley: Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are the two best place to start learning about Sauvignon Blanc. The whites are definitely herbal but the former's whites have a unique smoky mineral quality while the latter are known for their 'flint'. 

In Bordeaux, the grape is typically blended with Sémillon to make white Bordeaux and high-priced sweet Sauternes and affordable Barsac. 

Speaking of Bordeaux, it is interesting to note that DNA profiling has revealed Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc to be the noble parents of the great red variety, Cabernet Sauvignon. Apparently back in the 18th century, these two vines spontaneously crossed somewhere in the region to create the most popular red grape in the world.

Sauvignon Blanc is also important to New Zealand's wine industry. In the 1970s, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc sparked a revolution on the international market and the entire country has reaped the benefits since. Today it is the most-widely planted variety in the country with Chardonnay a distant second. 
The famous Cloudy Bay label

In the Casablanca Valley along the Pacific coast in central Chile, the white grape does especially well. In South African you can find excellent varietal Sauv Blancs from Stellenbosch. In California, the white wine is lightly oaked giving the herbal component a softy creamy-toast character.

SAUVIGNON BLANC IN NIAGARA: MY EXPERIENCE SO FAR

Last year when I went wandering the wine route, I gravitated towards Riesling and Chardonnay. I tried the occasional Sauvignon Blanc here and there, stopping at wineries in both NOTL and Jordan/Beamsville but found the varietals wanting. The acidity didn't seem as bright as the best of France or New Zealand. The grassiness was quite sad in a few instances and the structures of most were a bit wobbly. 

I had really given up on Canadian Sauv. Blanc.

Then yesterday, while out buying wedding gifts, I happened on a few excellent Sauvignon Blancs from two interesting wineries.


CREEKSIDE AND GRETZKY

First, I have to mention Creekside and No.99 are actually sister companies. 

Creekside came into being in 1998 when Peter Jansen and Laura McCain-Jensen, newly returned from a honeymoon/wine tour in California bought V.P. Cellars, a languishing winery on 4th Avenue.

In June 2007, Monique Beech in the Niagara Falls Blog (she now writes for the St.Catharines Standard) announced the Great One would be opening a winery in Niagara. The location was not disclosed at the time but it turned out to be the former Willow Heights Winery at 3751 King St. in Vineland. 

The two wineries are in partnership and share both the land and winemakers. If you're looking for a tour, please call up Creekside as the Gretzky facility is not yet set up to accommodate eager wine students. Both locations have restaurants.

WINE NOTES

I wouldn't say Sauvignon Blanc has the same potential here in Niagara as Riesling or Chardonnay but with innovation and care, it can be unique. 

Take the No.99 Wayne Gretzky Estate Series 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. I mentioned that Sauv. Blanc is lightly oaked in California (they call it Fumé Blanc). This wine has the herbs, the grass but also a lovely gooseberry character. The wine is a combination of both barrel and stainless steel fermentation and you'll find a light, creamy texture to the wine that is no way intrusive but intriguing. $18.95 and available through the winery or on-line wine buying sites. 


For those that want a beautiful, zesty, green fruit gooseberry and grapefruit summer sipper, I highly recommend the Creekside Estate 2008 Sauvignon Blanc at $13.95 (winery and LCBO). A wonderful white, it's delicate but lively and a great wine to reach for after being out in the sun. 

Creekside Estate also offers a Reserve 2007 Sauvignon Blanc ($26.95). Again, if you like the idea of the Gretzky lightly-oaked Sauv., then this one might be for you. The wine was rated 4 1/2 stars out of 5 by Rick VanSickle, wine writer for the St.Catharines Standard and is a Gold Medal winner at both Cuveé 2010 and the Ontario Wine Awards 2009.  

The wine is bigger with the tropical fruit and gooseberry notes turned up in volume. It isn't as grassy as the Estate series offering but if you can imagine a grapefruit gently dipped in whipped cream, then this is your wine.

Overall, these varietal are ideal on their own or with a side salad. With the Reserve from Creekside, however, I would pair it with a creamy Alfredo pasta.

Crisp white wines like Sauvignon Blanc are also excellent with fried foods so if you need something to sip with your fish and chips, look no further this summer. 

LINKS

http://www.creeksidewine.com/  
http://www.gretzky.com/wine/ 

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Alsace in Ontario - Jackson Triggs' Gewürztraminer

In a previous blog I recommended a notable Pinot Blanc from Konzelmann. I also mentioned the grape variety hales from Alsace in North-Eastern France on the German border.

Considering we're on the "border" of summer with spring still dragging its feet, I feel it's time to be prepared for the warmer weather and get to know some of the greater white wines of the Niagara Region. 

ONTARIO AND ALSACE: A COMPARISON

For those beginner wine lovers in southern Ontario, it's essential to note that despite the humid months of July and August, we live in what's considered a cool climate viticultural area. If you look at a map of the world, the majority of wine growing countries fall between 50 degrees and 30 degrees North and 30 degrees and 50 degrees South latitude.

Ontario's three main viticultural areas (Lake Erie North Shore, Niagara Peninsula and Prince Edward County - just outside of Toronto) all fall in between 41 and 44 degrees North latitude (the Okanagan Valley  in B.C. is just shy of 50 degrees). 

Alsace in France is also considered a cooler climate lying between 47 and 49 degrees North latitude. 

Here in the Niagara Peninsula we have the Escarpment acting as a buffer for the on-shore winds from Lake Ontario. This green, southern series of bluffs creates a circular air flow which helps to blow away fog and mist and reduce the threat of damaging frost in the early spring.

In Alsace, the Vosges mountain range protects the region from westerly, rain-bearing winds. While Alsace is one of the driest wine regions of France, along with Roussillon (just north of the Pyrennes), Loraine, which lies west of the Vosges is the wettest. 

The soil in Ontario's vineyards range from Glacial till (mix of clay, silt, sand, gravel), Clay Loam, Sandy Loam (found near Lake Ontario) to Silty Clay (mostly around the Escarpment benches).

The vineyards of Alsace have been described as a 'checkerboard of soil types' including chalk (mixed with clay), limestone, granite, schist, volcanic rock sediment and sandston along with Alsace's pinkish-coloured sandstone which has become known as grès de Vosges (often used as a building material for local cathedrals).

Despite all the technical stuff, the two regions have some nice things in common, namely their easy to read labels and aromatic whites.

GEWÜRZTRAMINER

Pinot Blanc or Weisburgunder, Pinot Gris or Grauburgunder, Riesling, Muscat and Gewürztraminer are perhaps the most famous white varieties of Alsace (the latter four considered the four 'noble' varieties suitable for making the Grand Cru wines of the region).

Of the five mentioned, Gewürztraminer (ge-VURZ-trah-MEAN-er) is the tongue twister, the one  the majority of wine lovers have the most trouble pronouncing. 

Gewürz is actually a German word (big surprise, right?) for spice. Traminer or Tramin, a town in Alto Adige in Northern Italy and is thought to be the place where the grape first originated. So really, the name means "spicy grape from Tramin". 

In parts of Germany and Austria the variety is known as Clevner (which is easier to pronounce, if you ask me).

Styles of Gewürz (the abbreviated form is understood and used quite often) range from light and floral to viscous and rich. Italian Gewurztraminer - mainly known as Traminer - is traditionally closer to Pinot Grigio in body with notes of strawberry and white flowers. In Alsace, you typically find lychee, pink grapefruit and rose water. 

In Ontario, so far many of the wineries I've seen with Gewürztraminer vines are aiming to produce the French style. Some are successful but I find most fall just a tad short of the mark. 

I can highly recommend Featherstone out in Vineland for an excellent rosewater/lychee Gewürztraminer.

For those looking for the lush Alsatian style, Jackson Trigg's two Gewürztraminer offerings. 

WHAT DO YOU PREFER - PINK OR WHITE GRAPEFRUIT?

While visiting the winery today, the young trainee behind the tasting bar, Laura said she really enjoyed the Grand Proprietor's Reserve 2007 Gewürztraminer. I have to say, I first tried the 2007 Riesling (a nice apple petrol touch) and 2008 Chardonnay (buttery with notes of toffee and apple pie), then went on to try Laura's recommendation. 

I was very impressed. For just about nineteen dollars, you can enjoy the lychees, the grapefruit and roses with an additional round, plump honey melon element. The acidity could be a bit brighter but that's just it, Gewürztraminer is not traditionally known for its zesty quality - unlike Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. The viscous body, however, makes the wine so seductive and exotic. An excellent value and comparable to the offerings of Alsace. 

I can also recommend the Delaine Vineyard 2007 Gewürztraminer which has more of a white grapefruit, orange rind, rose and floral feel. It's also gorgeous but it all comes down to your palate and your preferences.

Both wines would be perfectly paired with spicy dishes - Indian, Thai and Vietnamese. Tonight, I had my Grand Proprietor's Reserve with Pad Thai.

Excellent wines but the only thing is I have a hard time recommending the winery namely because of Jackson Triggs' Cellared in Canada (CIC) wines. 

Nonetheless, for a corporate winery, they make some nice higher-end wines. If you love Alsatian Gewürz, these are a must-see and drink

Bibliography

Clark, Oz, 2009 Pocket Wine Guide. Harcourt Publishing, Orlando, 2008.

Fielden, Christopher, Exploring the World of Wine and Spirits. WSET: London, 2005.

 MacNeil, Karen, The Wine Bible. Workman Publishing Company Inc. New York, 2001

Wine Council of Ontario, The Wine Regions of Ontario: An Introductory Course for Ontario Colleges and Ontario Wineries, Second Edition

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Alsace in Ontario - Konzelmann's Pinot Blanc

Yesterday, my step-brother, his girlfriend and I wandered out into Niagara-on-the-Lake to do some white wine tasting. We had drank heavily the night before but surprisingly, after six shots of Cognac and three glasses of wine, I didn't feel the hurt (actually, I was at the gym around 10 am so maybe wine is truly 100% good for me). 

We headed to Cattail Creek (highly recommend their Rieslings and Chardonnay), Hillebrand (their Sauvignon Blanc is the closest to a California Fume) and Konzelmann. 

For white wines, Konzelmann is a must and with spring here and summer poking its head, they make some of the best patio sippers in Niagara. 

I always buy something at Konzelmann. Along with Chateau des Charmes, Inniskillin and Reif, you can't beat the great value these wineries offer. 

Jeremy served us at Konzelmann and we had a great time mispronouncing all the wine names. Mer-lot,.Pee-not Blank. Cab-er-net Sav-ig-non.  But he knows his wine and he brought out a bottle of their 2008 Pinot Blanc. He mentioned the wine had been getting some excellent press and that a prestigious restaurant in New York City were selling them at $38.00/bottle. I had to try it. 

For those getting into wine and looking to move beyond Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc is one of the main grapes grown in Alsace and throughout Southern German where it is known as Weisburgunder (pronounced vice-ber-gunder). Whereas Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris can have a metallic and often oily-apple character, I find Pinot Blanc tend to lean towards white flower and stone fruits.

Konzelmann's 2008 Pinot Blanc is perhaps one of the most impressive whites I've had in a long time. The nose is lovely with an apricot-honey aura and on the palate, there are peaches, lemon, pear with just a hint of mineral. The acidity is just right, not too tart, not too flat and the finish is bright and tangy.    

I bought a bottle (along with their Shiraz - another must) and early this evening cracked it open after the rain. The sun is out now and I'm still sipping this wine. 

For just over a eleven dollars a bottle, it is well worth the trip to Konzelmann or your local LCBO. You would be hard pressed to find a wine from Alsace with the same character at the same price. An ideal wine with mussels and oysters, seafood dishes and white pizza (especially with Kalamata olives and artichokes).

I'm sure this wine won't be around once the word gets out.

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The Cheap and the Cheerful for Christmas - Ontario Wines

Earlier in the month I recommended a few budget-friendly international wines. Today I'm going to devote an entry to some Ontario wines.

First things first, if you didn't get a chance to read Monique Beech's articles in the St.Catharines' Standard about the 'Cellared in Canada' wines then I have to say check the link. I know Jackson Triggs and Peller  Estates both have cheap wines but unless they're VQA (Vintner's Quality Alliance) they're not a 100% percent Canadian. If you want to support Canada 100%, you have to go the wineries or the VQA section at the LCBO.

But a lot of complaints I hear from friends and contacts is that Ontario wines are expensive. Compared to a cheap Chilean or Spanish wine, yes, they're not typically nine dollars but the thing is these countries have a lot more acreage devoted to vine land.

Ontario and especially British Columbia's wine regions are as far north as you're going to get in North American when it comes to grape growing. In order for the vine to flourish, it needs four seasons. In places like Brazil, there can be numerous harvests but because the vine hasn't experienced a dormancy period, it's very much close to impossible to produce a decent wine (unless you're high up in the mountains).

I am a firm believer in supporting our local economy (even it means spending $12.00 instead of $10.00...so what...?).

SOME OF MY FAVOURITES:

Chateau des Charmes  'Silver Label' 2006 Cabernet VQA

The French-Style chateau on York Rd is hard (extremely hard) to miss. I remember numerous Christmas afternoons passing the stately winery on the way to my aunt's for Christmas dinner. She served the typical fair (yams, buttery mashed potatoes, mouth-watering pork and turkey) along with Ukrainian perogies and cabbage rolls. During dinner, the guys watched sports, beer bottles in hand while the women, swirling their  wine glasses gossiped in the dining area. We kids traditionally got into trouble, usually doing something stupid in the basement (or nearly breaking a window with a bow and arrow - my bad....).

If you're looking for an easy way to support your Ontario wineries, this wine is a must. This wine is medium bodied with notes of seductive, solemn leather, earthy raspberries and black currants with just a zing of green pepper.

Get out of the Cellared in Canada section and buy this red VQA at $9.95!

Pelee Island Gamay/Zweigelt 'Night Glider' VQA

If you bring this wine to a Christmas dinner or party, you might get a few people asking about the crazy bat on the label (it's actually a Southern Flying Squirrel... poor little guy).

Or... the other question: What the *bleep* is Zweigelt?

Well Zweigelt (or Blauer Zweigelt if you're in Central Europe) is one of the most popular Austrian dark-grape varieties. Dr. Zweigelt crossed Blaufräkisch and St-Luarent, combing the bite of the first with earth elegance of the latter.

The grape ripens early and in southwest Ontario, it's not a bad thing. Some experts feel the grape's name is hampered by the originator's difficult to pronounce name (sf-VAI-gelt).

For $10.95 you can get this dark chocolate, black currant and cherry charmer. Ideal with pasta dashes but would be a nice compliment to hearty stew.

Konzelmann 2007 Riesling VQA

I was a networking event earlier in the month (the same one, if you've read my Wine and Food Pairing for the Holidays entry where our MC jokingly said we all needed to check into AA) where myself and several other colleagues shared a bottle Konzelmann's 2007 Riesling.

It's always a bit more expensive in the restaurant (I won't tell you what we paid) but at the LCBO, for $11.95, you can't resist this pearl of a wine. Apricot, apple, hints of honey and light petrol, this wine is a scintillating dance of flavours, structured but sensuous. 

Best of all, the staff at Konzelmann are some of the best I've ever met. Friendly, knowledgeable and the most enthusiastic bunch next to those at Inniskillin. When I first moved back to Ontario after living six years in B.C., I headed over to Konzelmann. I kept coming back.

When the summer season is back in swing, I'll be back there trying the latest.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

I know we had to tighten our spending. It sucks, we're all feeling the pinch. But for those who live in Ontario, it's our home and we make fantastic wines. I'd rather spend $12.00 on a spectacular wine than $9.00 on a passable international. In Ontario, the winemakers here rarely, if ever, make plonk. I think we can be proud of that. 

LINKS

Chateau des Charmes

Pelee Island Winery

Konzelmann Winery

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Ontario – Wandering the Wine Route: Crown Bench Estates

At the very end of Aberdeen Road is another world. The air is fresh, the busy roads and highways of cities have disappeared. You’ll find vineyards and a two-storey house. Walk through the post and lintel entrance, across the great stone patio up to a blue door. Behind this blue door, inside, you’ll find a boutique store and tasting bar.

Behind that tasting bar, you’ll most likely find Livia Kocsis, the winery’s president.

CROWN BENCH ESTATES

I knew nothing of Crown Bench Estates other than that they made high quality wine. This is an understatement. They’re purists.

If you want to know Ontario wines, visit Crown Bench. They make wines only when the years have been kind to the vineyard. Peter Kocsis, the winemaker runs a tight ship. Typically, the crop is reduced from 5 tonnes to one and half to insure quality.

And you may wonder: why do wine producers reduce their crop? Well quantity rarely, if ever equals quality when it comes to wine. Just imagine you are a vine. You have a hundred berries in your bunch. You’re absorbing nutrients from the soil, drinking up the rain, growing in the sun. You have a hundred berries to pass off the nutrient goodness to. That’s a lot. Imagine, a third of your bunch is reduced. That’s a weight off your chest. Instead of giving your all to a hundred berries, you’re sending all that you can to just thirty or so berries, concentrating them.

Less berries, the more each one gets. When the harvest comes around, the grapes are fuller, richer and create a more charismatic, deeper, complex wine.

The wines come from these small batches.

“The wine is made in the vineyard,” Livia told me while I tasted their wine. “What good is the wine if you don’t have a good crop? All the work is done out there. We check the vineyards, prune for less buds. We keep it clean. No mildew, no bugs.”

LIVIA KOCSIS

If you want to get a good idea about the pulse of the Ontario wine market, talk to Livia. She knows this region high and low, from the politics to the players. She won’t give you the sugar-coated version of the strides growers and producers have made and the struggles they still have. Instead, you’ll get the truth of the matter. The romanticism of wine can often blind us from the hard work and dedication to the art of viniculture. Livia and her husband are on the side of the quality, not the mass market.

For many wine consumers, wineries are marketed with the customer completely in mind They are safe places. You roll up, you see the sights, you taste a bit of the history, you taste the wine, you become enamored. The experience is entertaining and gives you insight into the region but rarely do you see the everyday hardships.

Peter and Liva with their Crown Bench winery offer a different experience.

“One of the big corporate wineries had vineyards out this way. I won’t name any names but I will say, they left it in a bad state. They just don’t care. Slash and grab.”

I understood. Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade.

When I asked her what she thought of the Cellared in Canada wines she thought it was a shame.

“We’re the laughing stock of the wine world. How can we support our local grape growers, how can we support our own industry when wineries are doing this? We’re practically the only quality wine region in the world who does this. We’re embarrassing ourselves.”

She had a point, her argument was solid.

This is what I admired most about my experience at Crown Royal. Talking to Livia reminded me of how important it is to be devoted to our backyard, our Ontario.

CROWN BENCH: APPROACHING THE WINES

I’m rarely ever objective about wines. It’s not that I don’t strive for objectivity, I simply believe a wine is a personal experience. But a personal experience that can be edified, that through time and practice, one can eventually learn to discriminate the quality, well, from the crap.

It’s the same with books and movies. The formulaic bestsellers and blockbusters satisfy the surface pleasures of your attention span – sex, drama, violence. But when you get tired of the same derivative plots, then you have to seek out the greater stories.

Wine offers a story. When a vineyard has been cared for, when attention and dedication have been administered the wine will tell this tale. Wine is a result of hundreds upon hundreds of decisions. In good writing, it is all about editing, about selection. The choices of the author is not unlike that of the winemaker – what do you sacrifice, what do you decide to make your end product tell the good tale? Crown Bench offers wines that are like good stories.

CROWN BENCH 2001 CHARDONNAY

From vineyards planted back in the 1960s, this wine is mineral creamy apricot apple, with a very St.Veran Burgundian approach. Entered in the Chardonnay du Monde contest this local white came in 6th of 2,800 Chardonnays. Not too bad for a local Beamsville Bench offering. And like Burgundian whites, it can stand to age for another ten years.

CROWN BENCH 2007 MERLOT, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CABERNET FRANC and MERITAGE

While tasting with Livia, she informed me that the majority of their reds had recently been bottled. “Go easy, they’re quite young. You need to imagine where these wines will go.”

Merlot: A floral red plum with notes of coffee. This wine is destined to be beautiful. Highly recommended, but you’ll need to give it at least 6 months, if not a year or two before the wine fully blossoms.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Green olive, red fruit, smoky, svelte dark cherry with touches of spice, Livia recommended I decant this wine 24 hours in advance. I loved where this wine was going so I bought one.

Cabernet Franc: Of all the reds, I felt this needed the most time. At least a year. It’s still tight but once it has given its due, the black fruit, the chocolate raspberry will be fully shaped.

Meritage: Made from 50% Cabernet Franc, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, this wine too will need a bit more time. The black fruit is there but it was hard for me to tell in which direction this wine will develop - either towards the fruity style of the New World or Bordeaux. Knowing the quality-minded devotion of the Kocsis, this wine will offer depth and excellence.

CROWN BENCH – OTHER OFFERINGS

I do enjoy Icewine but not before noon and certainly, not without a hearty dessert. But there is a wondrous bevy of Icewines to try at Crown Bench.

I did get a chance to try a CABERNET FRANC ICE WINE JUICE. This juice is deliciously sweet and would pair wonderfully with a bramble berry pie. A great gift, unique for wine and juice lovers.

From their wines to their approach, Crown Bench Estates offers integrity and honesty. It’s good to support and root for our great local wineries.

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Ontario - Wandering the Wine Route: Cattail Creek Estate Winery

The Four Mile Creek sub-appellation lies south of the Niagara Lakeshore and west of the Niagara River. It is a vast, fertile plain, the largest of the sub-appellations in the entire Niagara Peninsula known for producing premium, full-bodied reds. During the growing season, the area experiences warm days and cool nights.

Red shale with high silt and clay make up the soils here, providing good water retention for the vines. This and the plentiful sunshine give many growers opportunities to try their hand at numerous varieties.

CATTAIL CREEK

In the midst of this extensive sub-appellation, you can find the small, family-owned winery of Cattail Creek. The Dyck family has grown grapes since 1957, providing premium fruit for local wineries in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In 2006, Ken and Renate Dyck’s daughter, Roselyn joined the family business, helping the family create the present winery.

The family currently owns 40.5 hectares (100 acres) of vineyards growing numerous varieties. Pulling up to their boutique store and winery on Concession 6 in NOTL, you can feel the vineyards spreading off in every direction, the sunshine poring down from a clear blue sky.

Inside the boutique there is a long tasting bar and a sizable menu of varietal and blends to try.

Variety and quality appear to be the two key terms to keep in mind when trying their impressive wines.

CATTAIL CREEK: WINES

My moods take me in different directions and this goes for my wine moods. In the summer, I can drink red or white, it doesn't matter, I don’t have a preference for Pinot Grigios or other patio sippers. A wine is like a good book and sometimes they just pick you.

While visiting the winery, I found myself leaning towards the whites.

2006 Dry Riesling

This wine has a lovely nose and on the palate, a light mineral-lime-lemon-apple-spray of honey. Closer to a German style than New World versions like Australia and New Zealand.

2007 Off-Dry Riesling

A Medal Winner at the Canadian Wine Awards 2008, this Riesling offers more of a viscous peach-pear and orange blossom element than the above. For those that like stone fruit and a hint of sweetness, an excellent white to pair with Indian or Thai food.

2006 Riesling Reserve

Sourced from 30-year old vines, I found this wine resembled an Australian Riesling in its tartness. Expect greens apple and a chalky, mineral zest.

2007 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay

First off, I have to say, I bought two bottles of this wine. Usually, if I really enjoy a wine, I’ll pick up one bottle. I rarely buy cases. Drinking wine for me is about variety and what I open today is different from what I open tomorrow.

Another Medal Winner, this time at the Ontario Wine Awards 2009, not to mention a Best Limited Edition White Wine winner, this Chardonnay is exquisite. In the glass, give it a swirl and just breathe in the vanilla and toasted oak-apples. Take a sip, and the wine lifts you away into a buttertart-toffee–pear-almond-granola heaven.

Now you know why I bought two bottles. Wonderful value, it beats the best of California Chards.

2008 Serendipity Rosé

Another award winner (and not a surprise, this winery is a must-visit for wine lovers), this rosé is a blend of Gamay and Riesling. Even though summer is over, there are still traces of it alive in this fruity medley of strawberry and watermelon.

2008 Pinot Noir

Like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir has its own love-it-hate-it crowd. Wine drinkers are rarely on the fence when it comes to this grape. People who enjoy white wine can appreciate the occasional Pinot Noir as the wine’s acidity is similar to white wines. But those looking for something fuller-bodied, should look for a California Cab or Australian Shiraz.

I've become a recent convert of Pinot Noir. Cattail Creek’s Pinot doesn’t disappoint. It is soft and easy, a pleasant, approachable red with cherry and strawberry notes, not to mention a passing hint of barnyard.

2008 Merlot

I find Merlot especially delicious in the sub-appellations of Four-Mile Creek and the Niagara Lake Shore. (The other night I had the Hillebrand Trius 2008 Merlot – ready to drink but could age another year). Cattail Creak’s Merlot exudes ripe black cherries, smoky chocolate and light notes of vanilla.

CATTAIL CREEK – OTHER OFFERINGS

I didn’t have a chance to try the other reds which include several higher-end, limited edition reds. There is also a large selection of Dessert Wines, many of them again, you guessed it, award winners.

But please, if you go, check out the Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. This is just one of the reasons to visit Cattail Creek.

Cattail Creek Estate Winery

1156 Concession 6

RR #4 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

L0S 1J0

Tel: 905-988-9463

Email: info@cattailcreek.ca

Hours of Operation

May - Oct., 10:00 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily

Nov - April, 11:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily

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Ontario – Wandering the Wine Route: Vignoble Rancourt Winery

It was one of those cool autumn afternoons. Under an overcast sky, I wandered “lonely as a cloud” as Wordsworth once wrote. I had nowhere to go, no one to see and just wanted to get out, take a drive.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is always the perfect place to visit. It may not have the rolling hills of Jordan and Beamsville but the flatness of the landscape provides the perfect canvas for the sky to express its vastness. Some days, I am simply overwhelmed by the sublime configurations of our clouds, their mountainous sweep, the tranquil but melancholy allure of their presence on windy sunset evenings.

When it is threatening rain, and the breeze picks up, I feel I am lost in a beautiful dream.

VIGNOBLE RANCOURT

After taking a scenic drive through Niagara-on-the-Lake, I took the East West Line back to St.Catharines. Just after Highway 55 I saw a sign for Vignoble Rancourt. I hadn’t heard of the winery before.

Just a few seconds down Concession 4, past a green, leaf-healthy vineyard I took a right into the long gravel drive of Vignoble Rancourt. At the end, a grey, modern two story structure, what you might call a blend between a barn and farmhouse, clean, unassuming.

I entered the tasting room, finding it peaceful, the dimmed lights lending a tranquil aura not unlike that of a monastery. There was a reverent hush. Mrs. Rancourt stood behind the tasting bar, welcoming me with her lovely French-Canadian accent.

I asked about the winery, how long it had been around. Only three years she informed me. She said the Rancourts had been in Canada for many generations and that her late-husband, Lionel Rancourt had started the winery.

VINGNOBLE RANCOURT AND THE NIAGARA LAKESHORE

While trying their only white, the Noble Blanc, a delicious blend of Riesling and Chardonnay, Mrs. Rancourt told me about the appellation. The winery is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake on the Niagara Lakeshore sub-appellation which runs from the Welland Canal to the Niagara River along the shorelines of Lake Ontario. The main influence on the vineyards here is the lake which moderates the temperature.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is the Niagara Peninsula’s largest wine region which also includes the sub-appellations of St.David’s Bench (under the Escarpment), the Niagara River (along the parkway), and Four Mile Creek (just south of the Niagara Lakeshore).

Some liken the wines of Niagara-on-the-Lake to that of Bordeaux in southwest France, further noting that the wines of Beamsville and Jordan are closer in style to that of Burgundy in eastern France.

For those just getting into wine, Bordeaux wines are blends, typically of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and a bit of Malbec. These are the five main varieties. For white Bordeaux, Sémillion, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle.

In Burgundy, the wines are always based on one grape. For the reds, Pinot Noir (unless you’re in the south of Burgundy which is Beaujolais and there the grape is Gamay) and for the whites, Chardonnay. There is some varietal Aligoté as well but not nearly as famous.

Tasting the reds of Vignoble Rancourt, I noted a predominant Bordeaux-influence.

TASTING NOTES

Rancourt 2007 Noble Blanc

As I mentioned above, this is a Riesling and Chardonnay blend. There are many people who can’t stand Chardonnay and you can’t blame them. Chardonnay is that celebrity everyone hears about and gets sick of quickly (think Julia Roberts after Pretty Woman or recently, Paris Hilton). But this wine is fruity, fun with a backbone of mineral apple-melon finesse. For white wine drinkers, a must.

Rancourt 2006 Noble Rouge

I fell in love with this one instantly. A delicious, up front red with notes of strawberries, cherries, and raspberries. For some red wine, room temperature is alright but this blend deserves to be slightly chilled to bring out the mouth watering acidity. For white wine drinkers that don’t really like red but should give a red a try, another must.

Rancourt 2006 Merlot

This is a wine for those that like their reds with a little vanilla action. Far too easy to drink, this Merlot invites you into a softer world of toasty-chocolate and black fruit. It would pair perfectly with veal.

Rancourt 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and Rancourt 2006 Cabernet Franc

These are wines to pair with beef. The Cab Sauv has a nice black tea/black fruit edge with a zing of cinnamon cranberry while the Cab Franc is herbal black fruit.

Rancourt 2006 Meritage

I mentioned Bordeaux above. A Meritage is actually the North American version of a Bordeaux blend. These wines cannot be called ‘Bordeaux’ unless they are from the appellation in France. For awhile, back in the 1950s and ‘60s, a great deal of wineries in California and Australia were calling their wines Chablis or Burgundy when the grapes weren’t actually sourced from the French region. It was just to give them a bit more European flair.

European Union laws are far more strict these days, quality has to be maintained, fraud avoided. You can't call your wine a 'Bordeaux' in Canada or the U.S. But instead of calling it a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot/Malbec blend, which can be a mouthful, the wine producers in the New World simply call it a 'Meritage'. Meritage essentially translates Bordeaux-style for wine drinkers.

This Meritage is delicious and packed with medium-bodied berry fruit and fragrant baking spices.

Rancourt 2004 Meritage

There are wines I am drawn to, that I want to sit with, savour, almost meditate with. The 2004 Meritage is such a vintage. When I tasted it I was entranced. It made me think of a quote I once heard: Taste is the memory of another time. I don’t know who said it or if I misheard it, but believe me when I write that this wine took me to another place. I was lost in a leafy-barnyard bouquet of black olives, green peppers, cranberries and seductive cinnamon. It reminded me of the scene in the famous novel, In Search of Lost Time in which the narrator dips his Madeleine cake into his tea, takes a bite and suddenly remembers the street he was raised on and all the other places of his childhood. Drinking this wine, I was somewhere else – maybe back in time, I don’t know. Another life.

Lionel Rancourt made this Meritage before he passed on. You can tell he put his heart and soul into it. I didn’t get a chance to meet the winemaker but this wine is a testament to the fine art of winemaking. Limited supplies on this one.

VISITING VIGNOBLE RANCOURT

The beaten path is not for everybody. There is an excellent book by editor in chief of Wired Magazine, Chris Anderson called The Long Tail. In the tome he explains that the more popular products, the hits in our markets are fleeting and eventually most consumers eventually want to explore the greater market for themselves.

The wines of Vignoble Rancourt are not showy or flashy like Australian or California wines (or the hits) we see bombarding the LCBO shelves. The winery isn’t huge, it’s modest and the wines available offer the consumer quality, giving us in Ontario a taste of the Old World, a world of Bordeaux in our own backyard.


Vignoble Rancourt Winery
1829 Concession 4
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
L0S 1J0
Tel 905-468-2882
Fax 905-468-9243
email lionel.rancourt@sympatico.ca

Hours of operation:
May – Oct., 10:00 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Oct. – April, 11:00 a.m. – 5 p.m

ANNOUNCEMENT: Happy b-Day, Johnny.

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Ontario - Wandering the Wine Route: Malivoire

As autumn approaches step-by-red-leafed-step, this is the ideal time to get in the car on the weekend and wander the wine routes. The harvest is in full-swing for some wineries while others are waiting for a bit more sun to get their grapes just right (or ripe). The slow but glowing changes in the trees give the atmosphere a crisp-gold allure amidst the fading, dying greenery. Autumn, yes, is truly the twilight of all seasons.

Growing up in Niagara, I spent numerous hours in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Lazy afternoons drives along the Niagara Parkway, through the country, to visit family or go see a band at the Angel Inn. It was always about experiencing the fresh, colorful scenery that makes this backyard of mine so beautiful to absorb in fall.

Lately, though, I’ve been exploring Jordan and Beamsville.

MALIVOIRE

On a day of mixed rain and sun, I drove along King St. to Malivoire. This winery sits on the rolling Beamsville Bench, which runs from the creek gully just west of Cherry Avenue in Lincoln to Park Road west of Beamsville. Whereas the majority of land in Niagara-on-the-Lake lies on a flat landscape, the wineries along the bench have some of the most visually stunning views of vineyards and Lake Ontario.

Malivoire is tucked up just off King St. on King St. E. The vineyards surround the winery in a sweep of slopes and the structures, Quonset huts, once designed for the U.S. Navy during the second world war, sit huddled on a hillside once considered too steep to grow vines.

The winery’s facilities are very modern and like Tawse on the Twenty Mile Bench, incorporate a gravity-flow system (actually they are the first to incorporate this innovative measure in Ontario). Martin Malivoire, a special-effects movie director and his partner, Moira Saganski bought two vineyards on the bench during the 1990’s. Winemaker Ann Sperling got the wines off to a great start. Assistant Shiraz Mottiar took over for the 2005 continuing in Ann’s impressive footsteps.

MALIVOIRE: THE VINEYARDS

The winery owns two vineyards, Moira and Estate on the Beamsville Bench while leasing the land of the Eastman (also on the bench) and the Epp Vineyards on the nearby Twenty-Mile Bench.

The main varieties grown include: Pinot Noir, Gamay, and Chardonnay, with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Marechal Foch, and Riesling.

Malivoire is dedicated to sustainability. The use of chemicals has become more of an issue for wineries as many wonder whether using quick solutions (i.e. pesticides that cause nutrient deterioration) is really worth the risk. While some 'irresponsible' wineries are more apt to abuse the land and leave it in a scorched-earth state, Malivoire has chosen to work with it. Cuttings and pomace are used for compost, herbal anti-mildew sprays replace chemical ones and grapes are picked by hand, reducing the emissions put out by harvesting machines.

The care taken to preserve the land shows up immediately in the wines. The Moira vineyard has been maintained under Organic certification since 2001.

MALIVOIRE: THE WINES

I came alone on my first visit to this winery. (When I go wine-tasting solo, I try to exercise a bit more caution. One day, I had been to two previous wineries and even though I had spit most of the wines, I was beginning to feel that buzz wine invites to one’s psyche and soul when lunch has been overlooked. When I get this feeling of romantic gregariousness, I tend to take a kind of sensual, laissez-faire approach to tasting. )

I asked the employee behind the counter what she recommended, what she thinks is the best. She recommended the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir.

She wasn’t wrong.

Malivoire Main Five Series 2007 Chardonnay

53% barrel of the wine was fermented in oak sourced from Burgundy, the remaining 47% fermented in stainless steel.

I was incredibly impressed with this wine as it brought on a bounty of bright, green apples, toasty butterscotch and delicious dashes of nutmeg. This is a fun wine, outspoken, easy to drink. My eyebrows shot up; I smiled. I dubbed this Chardonnay Party Girl.

Malivoire 2007 Mottiar Chardonnay

From vines planted on the Mottiar Family Vineyard on the Beamsville Bench, this wine is a bit more sophisticated than the Party Girl. Before I found out the vineyard had been planted with Dijon clones, I guessed Burgundy. The acidity was present, also the citrus and the stone fruit but there was an enticing Werther’s Original candy element that made it so much more beautiful. 

I have to say, I felt a moment of nostalgia but also this sense of immediate pleasure and wonder. The wine possessed a soothing depth. If it was a woman, she’d be blonde, tanned, dressed in gold and she’d take me out to the symphony. Falling in love, I called this Chardonnay Opera Girl.

Moira 2006 Chardonnay

The last and most expensive of the Chardonnays I tried was sourced from the Moira Vineyards. I took a sniff. It wasn’t as pronounced as the other two. I cupped my hands around the bottom of the glass to warm it up. I took another sniff.

There… but still, just slight, just subtle.

I found this wine to be a bit shy, perhaps it needed more time to come out of its shell. Taking in the mellow vanilla, the light melon and banana notes, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit rejected as if the wine had given me the cold shoulder or simply didn’t want to talk. The wine reminded me of a beautiful woman lost in a good book. She is there in the room but doesn’t respond to your footsteps, doesn’t hear you call her name. You kiss her neck and she just waves you off. Get out of here, I’m reading.

Call me crazy, but that’s the impression I got. I dubbed her Bookish Girl.

I shared my impressions with Anna behind the counter. She found the personalities I had attributed to the wines quite amusing.

I didn’t want to go yet. I had to try to two of the reds before I left.

The Malivoire 2006 Pinot Noir is both lively and tempting. Just imagine a red cherry dipped in paprika and red pepper, then add a shaving of pepperoni and you get my meaning.Complex and complete.

The Old Vines Foch was my personal favourite. For this wine, take a bramble berry pie, smother it with mulberry juice and drip on a few lines of pineapple glaze. Heaven - absolutely, irrefutably heaven.

Malivoire makes other notable wines - a Gamay, a Guilty Men red blend, their famous Ladybug Rosé, which I’ll try – hopefully - on my next visit.

Malivoire Wine Company Ltd.

4260 King Street East

P.O. Box 475

Beamsville, Ontario Canada

L0R 1B0

Tel: 905-563-9253

Toll-free in North America: 1-866-644-2244

Fax: 905-563-9512

Regular Hours:

Monday to Friday 10:00am to 6:00pm. Weekends 11:00am to 6:00pm

Sources:

http://www.malivoire.com/

Phillips, Rod, Ontario Wine Country. Whitecap Books, North Vancouver,

Wine Access 2009: Canadian Wine Annual

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Savour Niagara, September 2009

My thoughts and memories beat against my head in the early morning light. Yes, I’m hung over. I had a lot to drink last night but I met some wonderful people, drank some wonderful wines and ate some wonderful food. Laughing, drinking, eating, meeting, shaking hands, this is what wine events are for.

And this blog entry will be less focused on wine (although I mention a lot of it) and more subject, basedon my personal experience and is dedicated to my family. 

MEETING THE FAMILY
Yesterday afternoon, I arrived at the Sheraton for the 13th Annual Savour Niagara to first meet up with my step-sister, Shannon, my father Peter and my step-mother Gay in the latter’s hotel room. Gay Douglas-Broerse is the President of the Board of Small Business Club Niagara. Not only is she an amazing entrepreneur, co-founder of One Source Solutions but perhaps the best ‘evil step-mother’ (her words not mine) in the world.

In the hotel room, the four of us enjoyed a few appetizers, also polished off a bottle of Henry of Pelham Pinot Noir I had picked up at that winery a few weeks back.

Around 6, we headed down to the lobby. I couldn’t have been accompanied by a more fashionable entourage. Gay and Shan were both dressed in black, sophisticated but also beautifully stylish. I’m sure they turned a lot of heads. As for my father, he cleaned up good with a casual grey blazer over a black t and blue jeans to match, what I call his Kaiser haircut and trimmed beard. (I too looked stunning.)

There was a small line-up and we met my step-brother, Aaron, stewing and cursing over some personal matters – he is in the midst of moving and the painters were a no-show for him yesterday afternoon.

“Things happen,” his mother told him. “Moving is not fun.”
"Oh [insert expletive] don't get me started," he said in his deep, bass voice.
With a smile, Gay replied, "We'll try not to."

But we all knew he had to catch up (being slightly in the sauce, it's hard to relate to those still anchored in sobriety.)

WORKING THE ROOM
Starting in the Brock Room, my first healthy gulp of wine came from Cave Spring Cellars, a beautiful and bountiful glass of their 2006 Chardonnay Estate. A hint of buttery apples, beautiful acidity, lush but light.

I was in for a good evening.

Mark, my brother, arrived shortly after, looking pensive, intimidating and ready to take on a night of wine. The six of us found a table to linger around for the first bit, where I sampled the delicious honey-melon 2008 Sauvignon-Chardonnay blend from Reif Estate (I did a lot of white wine drinking last night).

I met up with another notable and lovely entourage, the ladies of Women in Finance: Renee Bermel, Linda Herkel and Connie Materno with their friend Nikki Enkellar of SendOutCards and JE Indoor/Outdoor Services. We headed over to the Herdner table where I had a chance to sip the 2007 Riesling. Excellent is all I can say (not to mention beautiful apples, some petrol and tropical fruit). Renee fell in love with their Iced Pear wine and paired it (yes, yes, yes, a pun) with the Thai Vegetable Curry on Kaffi-Scented Basmati Rice from Hospitality on Hand. They were heading over to Reif before I wished them a good evening and re-joined my family.

Mark, Aaron and I headed out into the corridor to Atrium I at the other end. There, they fell in love with the Colio Estate 2005 CEV Cabernet Franc - a full-bodied, deep,wine with notes of brooding green pepper, chocolate and black berry - while I indulged in 2008 CEV Pinot Grigio. A bit of old world and new in the glass – lemon and tropical fruit with a hint of banana. We feasted on Zee’s Grill offerings – a Capon Drummette Lightly Breaded and glazed in truffled honey and roasted garlic. The guy’s at Zee's got to know our faces (as did Arleen and Doug of Colio).

Being of Dutch background, I have a sweet tooth. For myself, the Chocolate Brownie with the slightly singed Marshmallow frosting of Zee’s Grill made my night. I had quite few of those, I can admit.


SOME OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Stoney Ridge Estate Winery’s 2008 Reserve Gewurtztraminer – a bit of Alsace but with a sparkling bright acidity and a balance of lychee and roses.

Maleta Winery’s 2007 View Old Vines Dry Riesling – petrol and apple and just perfect.

Strewn Winery 2005 Riesling Terroir - a lovely, viscous wine with peachy apples.

Kacaba Vineyards 2008 Reserve Riesling - I just visited their winery the other week - excellent wines.

Calamus Estate Winery’s 2008 and 2007 Riesling – after drinking these wines, I truly have to visit the winery; I know, haven’t yet. (I know, I know, I’m a bad wine educator.)

THE MOMENTS
But I have to say, we all kept coming back to Zee’s Grill and Colio Estates in the 1st Atrium. I think it was the way the room was set up, a nice little nook, very open and less busy than the Brock Room. It was also the entertainment. I’m not a lover of Jazz but when the lovely  Juliet Dunn (a popular compliment to many wine events in Niagara) croons Bésame Mucho, her voice easy on the ears and her beauty easy on the eyes, its easy to understand why we lingered.

Piensa que tal vez mañana                                                          
Yo ya estaré lejos, muy lejos de tí.                     

(I think that maybe tomorrow

I'll be far, far away from you.)  

The evening felt like many evenings all together, all at once, the music everywhere. I remember looking at my cell phone and saying, no, it can’t be just 7:30. Wine slows down time, changes it, one moment a myriad of moments  Aaron and Gay both felt the same. I sat sluggish with wine on a bell hop hotel cart sipping on a Palatine Hill 2008 Gewurztraminer - lovely lychee and grapefruit. 

After laughing and finishing her cell phone call, Shannon sat down beside me. I felt a little sentimental. With a silly, drunken fist I punched her tanned shoulder and told her it was great to have her as my step-sibling. She felt the same. We talked about relationships, that confusing line between passion and love. I confessed to a few situations where it was easy to want, but not, love.

(Ella in Victoria, you crossed my mind. A beautiful, wine-soaked regret. Black curly hair and carnation-white cheeks, red lips, green blue eyes. I shook my head. I can’t believe you almost got me into a fight with that bouncer.)

Gay, being the very intuitive mother, checked up on her daughter, brought over a coffee from Starbucks. I offered my seat.

“Going on your date?” Gay asked her daughter.
“Yep.”
Responding with tough maternal love, “I want to check him out. I want to approve.”

My father also headed out, shaking our hands, kissing his wife goodbye.

CLOSING TIME
Aaron, my brother and I met up with a co-worker, Tim and the three government workers (my brother works for Canada Pension) griped about the real world. We had a few laughs and the wine had definitely lightened my step-brother up for the course of the night.

I have to say, Aaron is quite a character. By the end of the evening, as the crowd dispersed and the agents cleaned their tables, while all the women were innocently nabbing flowers off the tables, a woman sidled up to ours.

"You guys look like a nice bunch."
"We are," my step-brother formally and mischievously replied, his tone on the cusp of sarcasm.
Aaron introduced himself and us. The woman said hello and it turned out they had a mutual friend.
"John. Of course."
"You know him?" she asked.
"We worked together. He trained me for my position."
"He's a fantastic guy."
"Yeah, he's a great kisser."

That just got everyone. My brother chuckled, Gay burst into a hearty laugh. My lids swallowed my eyes, my head sunk and my shoulders bounced -I started and couldn't stop quietly howling for ten minutes.

The woman, concerned, asked if I was crying.

I shook my head, breaking into more laughter. I eventually composed myself, finishing my apple-citrus Wayne Gretzky Estate 2007 unoaked Chardonnay.

But we were all gone. Time had finally caught up to us. I tried to steal a glass on my way out but I couldn't. The ladies had taken all the flowers. The songs sung by the lovely Juliet whispered through my mind...

Piensa que tal vez mañana

My brother and I stayed in my step-mother's suite - she had the pull out, we crashed in the beds. On the way up, I waved goodbye to Aaron in the lobby, drunkenly telling him he too was a great kisser.

As I finish this blog entry, I look over at my bed, my body swimming with the faint remains of last night's wine. My head still hurts but the memories will be some of my happiest.

(I also want to add it was great meeting you Ashley - Gay is lucky to have you around. Don and Susan, I hope to see you guys at the next Savour Niagara.  Don, I've tried and I've tried but I can't remember the wine you recommended. A Pinot Noir from Oregon... ? I shake my head, memories washed in wine. It was great meeting you guys.)

Wineries:

Calamus Estate Winery
Cattail Creek Estate Winery
Chateau des Charmes Wines
Colio Estate Wines
Coyote's Run Estate Winery
Herdner Estate Wine
Kacaba Vineyards
Konzelmann Estate Winery
Maleta Winery
Niagara College Teaching Winery
Palatine Hills Estate Winery
Reif Estate Winery
Rockway Glen Estate Winery
Southbrook Vineyard
Stoney Ridge Estate Winery
Strewn
Wayne Gretzky Estate Winery

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Drink Canada - A Brief History of Ontario Wines

Growing up in St.Catharines, I hardly paid any attention to the surrounding wine country of the Niagara Region (I was a kid, c’mon). My main brushes with wine came through the Grape and Wine Festival Parade and family drives through Virgil, Vineland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. On our way to our cousins’ in the countryside, we passed the vineyards of Chateau des Charmes countless times. Watching the vines whip pass, I’d get hypnotized by the speed at which they flew across my vision. The visual effect intoxicated me long before I drank any of their wines.


While living in Victoria, British Columbia, I started work in a local liquor store at a mall near UVIC. (Unlike Ontario, B.C. has allowed a large portion of private liquor stores to open). The owners were half-Swiss Italian and were passionate about their cuisine and their Chianti. Besides learning about their favourites, I found myself drinking some of the local whites from up-island wineries such as Echo Valley, Zanata and Blue Grouse. Not only did I find these wines from Duncan and Chemainus surprisingly good but I suddenly realized I had fallen in love with wine and wondered how I came to discover it thousands of miles from my home, the Niagara heartland of vines.


After living in both Victoria and North Vancouver, I studied at the Art Institute, worked in both the hospitality and retail industry, and taught wine seminars. After a family visit back East, I decided to come back to St.Catharines and appreciate the land and region I had taken for granted all these years. I dedicate this entry to the many wine producers, past and present, who have developed the industry here and maintain such high standards of quality.


ONTARIO: EARLY HISTORY
There is an obvious difference between grape growing and wine making though the two are immeasurably linked. Native grapes (vitis labrusca) have long grown wild in our prestigious province well before borders were established, settlers set their homesteads and cities built. However, there is little evidence to suggest that native peoples used these grapes to make wine. It was only with the arrival of European pioneers do we see the faint beginnings of a wine industry. These souls, simply looking for a new way of life, first brought wine, beer and spirits to North America before attempting to make them in their new backyards.


Shipping wine across the Atlantic proved too costly for many families. The rich could afford this luxury but some attempted to use the indigenous labrusca grapes to make wine either for daily consumption or for religious purposes.


By the 1700s, grapes were being agriculturally grown and used throughout the North Eastern United States to make wine. Early Ontarians were not only of British descent but many came from France, Germany, Holland and neighboring New England. The vines were principally native and wine made from Concord and Catawba were most likely the norm. Many wine makers, including Thomas Jefferson in Virginia became frustrated with the poor results of growing vinifera varieties (i.e. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay).


ONTARIO – THE 19th CENTURY
In Ontario, we don’t have an iconic figure like California’s Agoston Haraszthy, often considered the Father of the state’s wine industry. Perhaps the closest figure we have is Johann Schiller, a German immigrant who made wine in what is today Mississauga. We know very little about him, other than he came from a military background, that he gathered wild grapes from the banks of the Credit River, that he planted a vineyard with local varieties and cultivated hybrids. As Rod Phillips suggests in the Wines of Ontario, there is “no evidence he was a model or inspiration to others”.


It is only until the 1860s do we take a significant and historical step forward and see some true progress towards our idea of an Ontarian wine industry. Count Justin de Courtenay purchased Schiller’s land and in 1864 set up a Vine Growers’ Association. De Courtenay was a writer of agricultural pamphlets and a founder of Chateau Clair winery, well known for its large annual production of some 20,000 gallons of wine (the equivalent of 10,000 cases, far exceeding the amount of most modest wineries in the province).


In 1866, just a year before Confederation, in southwestern Ontario, Thaddeus Smith and two other associates from Kentucky planted 10 hectares (25 acres) of labrusca vines on Pelee Island, later establishing Vin Villa. The grapes were sold to wineries in Ohio and in the province by 1871.


The last few decades saw an interesting growth of entrepreneurs in the wine industry with wineries popping up around St.Catharines, Niagara Falls, and Branford.


By 1900, 4,500 hectares (11,250 acres) of vine land were planted in Ontario. There were approximately three dozen wineries in Niagara and five dozen in North Shore Lake Erie.


GRAPES OF ONTARIO
As I mentioned, many of the grapes used to make wine here were vitis labrusca. Pick up some store-bought grape juice, add an ounce of vodka and you might have some idea how these wines tasted (or simply buy Manishevitz Kosher wine for $6.99 at the LCBO). Niagara (a cross between Concord and Cassady – another labrusca variety) was used to make white wines (and still is today) and Concord for many red wines (over two-thirds of New York State are planted with labrusca varieties to make Welch’s Grape Juice and jelly).


The reason many native varieties were used instead of the superior wine grapes of vinifera is simply because they could survive. Whereas Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and other vinifera varieties succumbed to pests, to the pesky phylloxera, (a root-eating aphid), diseases and Ontario winters, the native varieties, Concord, Catawba and Niagara managed just fine.


After Prohibition (1916 to 1927 - a time during which wine was thankfully legal as opposed to beer and spirits, unlike in the United States where the California wine industry experienced a major setback), there was a switch from labrusca to Hybrid varieties. A Hybrid is a cross between two different grapes of two different species, i.e. between vitis labrusca and vitis vinefera (whereas a Crossing is a cross between two grapes within the same species i.e. Pinotage, a South African grape whose parents are vitis vinifera Cincault and Pinot Noir). By the 1950s and ‘60s, the Niagara Peninsula wine producers began to make the switch over to Baco Noir, Seyval Blanc, Vidal and Marechal Foch. Labrusca varieties still remained in the market (and to this day although they make up a tiny portion of the wine market).


ONTARIO AND THE QUALITY REVOLUTION
By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many countries throughout the world began to move towards a higher standard of wine production. Before that, for many decades, wine makers in California, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada attempted to make cheap imitations of French wines. Chablis is made from Chardonnay but a California ‘Chablis’ was often a sweet blend of cheaper white grapes. Producers attempted to woo their customers with ‘European sounding’ names – Alpenweiss, Toscana, Red Burgundy and Wunderbar.


(For many of our parent’s generation, the baby boomers found themselves drinking the infamous Baby Duck, a sparkling wine made from Concord!)


This period of mediocre mainstream wine had to go. The worldwide leaders of quality sprouted up individually, synchronistically to some degree and included Robert Mondavi Jr. in Calfornia, Miguel Torres in Spain and Wolfgang Blass in Australia.


Here in Ontario, it was more of a duo.


Donald Ziraldo met Karl Kaiser, a native of Austria in the mid 1970s. The two knew each other through Ziraldo’s nursery. Ziraldo had just received his degree in agriculture from the University of Guelph while Kaiser had a degree in chemistry from Brock University and played around with home winemaking. One ‘fateful day’ as Ziraldo puts in his book, Anatomy of a Winery, Kaiser came to the nursery with some French hybrid grapevines and later a bottle of wine. Perhaps lost in the wake of the wine, they dreamt of their own winery and decided to apply for a wine license.


With the help of General George Kitching, Chairman of the LCBO who also shared the two men’s vision, they were issued a license (the first since 1929) and Inniskillin was born.


Inniskillin led the new wave, shortly followed by Newark (now Hillebrand), Colio Estates, Pelee Island Winery, Reif Estates (just down the road from Inniskillin), Konzelmann Estate and Henry of Pelham.


It was also about this time that Icewine put Canada on the world-wide wine map. Pelee Island and Hillebrand had produced icewine in 1983 but it was Inniskillin who helped win our first wine awards in France. (Kaiser’s 1983 crop was a feast for the birds apparently… it was a lesson learned as Karl believed they didn’t need netting to protect the vines. As Debi Pratt, Public Relations Manager at Inniskillin recalled: “Early in the morning, Karl came in and asked us when we had picked the ice wine grapes. He thought we had finished the harvest. We told him we didn’t touch the grapes. He then realized we should have used netting.”)


The advances in the sciences and study of wine making were also an immediate boon to our local industry as wine producers learned what varieties to plant, how to maintain them and what to look out for. It was around this time that vitis vinifera varieties started to take root.


ONTARIO WINE TODAY
When the Canadian government entered into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States in 1989, local wineries were deeply affected. “Together with other trade rules, it cut away at the preferential treatment and pricing of Canadian wines in provincial liquor stores,” writes Rod Phillips. “Ontario wines would have to compete on a level playing field with wines from California and elsewhere.”


The Ontario government, however did compensate and provided $50 million to growers to uproot inferior varieties. Ontario is said to have lost 20% of vines but there was an increase in vinifera plantings.


Around the same time, the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) was founded, setting a new standard for the emerging industry. The VQA assured customers that wine came not only from a specific appellation (i.e. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Jordan, Beamsville) but assured variety (85% of the wine made from that specified on the label), vintage and overall quality. If a wine producer indicated a particular sub-appellation or vineyard site, the wine must be exclusively made with the grape grown there.


During the 1990s and 2000s, the number of wineries increased substantially and newcomers like Daniel Lenko Estate, Palatine Hills, Tawse, Stratus, Fielding Estate, and 13th Street have all contributed to making Ontario wines world renowned. In 1996, Brock University opened the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) in partnership with the Wine Council of Ontario (WCO) and the Ontario Grape Growers Marketing Board, now the Grape Growers of Ontario (GGO).


ONE LAST ISSUE
I have to stress this: if you’ve been in the LCBO recently and you see a section called ‘Cellared in Canada’, this means the wines are not completely made with Ontario fruit. Most likely there is nothing of Ontario in these wines. If you’re buying a white label Jackson Triggs without a vintage date, you are buying a wine made with imported juice. For many local wineries, especially boutique-size, this is a strong issue as it undermines the direction and achievements of many Ontarian grape growers and wine makers. As devoted wine buyers, we are better off supporting the true local wines. In a time when many Ontario grape growers are struggling, these ‘Cellared in Canada’ wines do not truly represent Canada.


If we want to see future wineries develop and our present wine producers flourish, we need to focus on the craftsmanship of their products. For this history to continue, let’s support the legacy and enjoy Ontarian wines that are so easy to love.


Bibliography
Phillips, Rod, Ontario Wine Country. North Vancouver, WhiteCap Books, 2006.
Phillips, Rod, A Short History of Wine.
Ziraldo, Donald J.P. Anatomy of a Winery: The Art of Wine at Inniskillin. Toronto, Key Porter Books, 1995.

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